WATCHING THE NUMBERS – Deb Krau of the Greater Hyannis Civic Association, seen here speaking at the Oct. 28 meeting of the Hyannis Fire District Building Committee, is looking forward to a presentation on cost estimates Monday.

Will be presented Monday

When the Hyannis Fire District Building Committee meets Nov. 25 at 5 p.m. at the Steamship Authority Terminal, citizens will hear “very optimistic numbers,” committee chairman Richard Gallagher said this week.

Although he said he wouldn’t see those numbers until today or Monday morning, Gallagher said that new cost estimates following significant reductions in square footage for the proposed new fire station on High School Road Extension would point in the right direction – downward.

“At the last meeting, the committee saw the redesign by the architects,” Gallagher said. “They were very pleased with that. They decided we would go to cost-estimating.”

Overall, the chairman said, 13,000 square feet have been cut from the original design of the project. Following input from a subcommittee of the Greater Hyannis Civic Association, the cost of relocating the department during construction was eliminated by flipping the building so its administrative section abuts the North Street CVS rather than Stevens Street.

“One of our goals has been to try to get the cost down as significantly as we can without jeopardizing crucial programs,” said Gallagher. “We’re achieving that; I think we’ve gone as far as we can. I think the number hopefully will be below the $20 million mark. I believe that’s where we’re headed.”

The cost estimates that will be available for the next meeting include an all-brick façade.

“We will discuss that,” Gallagher promised. “This estimate will come in with what some of us if not all of us on the committee would like to see, an all-brick building.” Further discussion about other options for the exterior may be part of Monday’s review.

“Obviously, if we don’t do brick, that could change the equation a little bit or a lot,” said Gallagher. “I don’t know the answer.”

If the committee is happy with the new cost estimate, “it may go to a vote, which would be critical,” the chairman said. “Then we’d move it to the citizens and start a campaign to do that.”

Laying the groundwork for that campaign, Gallagher said Monday’s meeting would include a look at how the new costs would affect the district’s tax rate.

“We certainly look forward to hearing the costs,” said Deb Krau, a member of the Greater Hyannis Civic Association project review committee. “We’re still very concerned about how much it will cost in total. In addition to space, there are places to save based on furnishings, fixtures, so we’re hoping that the cost will be something that the village can support.”

If the original design could have been built for $10 million, Krau observed, “we would have said, ‘Wonderful!’ It really is a question of affordability, and we’re concerned about what that cost is.”